The Sunday Times Rich List included three representatives from the greeting card industry
The greeting card industry, although highly competitive, is perhaps not the easiest way to become super rich. But The Sunday Times Rich List – the definitive guide to the wealthiest 1,000 individuals in the UK – did include three representatives from the industry in its line up this year.
The first entry was Dean and Janet Hoyle (pictured at top), previous owners of Card Factory who featured at 411 in the list with an estimated wealth of £284 million. Dean bought a greeting card van business in the early 1990s and with his wife Janet opened their first Card Factory shop in 1997. They subsequently netted £250 million from its 2010 sale plus £46 million from its £766 million float. Dean now chairs the discount chain, The Works and owns Huddersfield Town football club.
It is a long time since Andrew Brownsword and his wife Christina were involved in the greeting card industry, as for the last 20 years, Andrew’s main business interest has been in upmarket hotels. But it was in greeting cards that he made his initial fortune, selling his eponymous company to Hallmark for an estimated £165 million in 1994. This year Andrew and Christina appear at number 415 in the list, with an estimated wealth of £272 million.
A surprise new entry for this year is Swedish-born Anders Hedlund of The Design Group, formerly International Greetings, appearing for the first time at number 946. His estimated wealth of £114 million is based on Anders’ and his family’s 38% stake in the £157 million publically listed company and comes from a real improvement in the plc’s financial performance in the last few years.
Pictured at top: Dean and Janet Hoyle, previous owners of Card Factory.
